• Ken Buck Wins Majority of Votes, Widens Lead Over U.S. Senate Field
• 50 Percent Support Dan Maes, 50 Percent See Scott McInnis as Stronger
• Participants Still Suggest Bigger Numbers for Caucus Participation

Other bits from the survey:

• Survey-Takers Predict 5-Point Victory for Clear the Bench
• Underdogs Make Up Small Ground on CD7’s Ryan Frazier, CD3’s Scott Tipton
• Cory Gardner Still Strong in CD4, Stephen Bailey Tops in CD2
• J.J. Ament Holds Steady Atop Three-Way State Treasurer Field

Thank you to the more than 700 participants in the March edition of the survey — breaking our previous records for participation. The complete release of the survey results is below the fold (click “Fullscreen” for better view):

Survey Results Analysis 031510

Update, 3/8: With the news that CD 7 candidate Jimmy Lakey has withdrawn from the race (H/T Complete Colorado), his name has been removed as a possible selection on the relevant questions. I hope it wasn’t anything I said giving my off-the-cuff analysis of the CD 7 GOP primary last night as guest co-host on Backbone Radio.

Time flies, so here comes another edition of the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature. The deadline is next Friday, March 12, at 5:00 PM local Mountain time. What are you waiting for?

Click here to take the March survey

The March edition has even fewer issue statements, but adds attention to the 2nd Congressional race, and asks participants to predict the likelihood that Colorado Supreme Court justices will be retained or removed from office in November.

Results of the survey are scheduled to be released the day before Republicans across Colorado convene in their March 16 caucuses, which this year includes a preference poll of candidates in the governor’s and U.S. Senate primary races.

Throughout the 2010 election year, the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature will re-appear the 1st Thursday of each month. So once you complete this survey, you can start counting down the days until the April edition is unveiled [though in this case, due to the Easter holiday, the next survey is slated to launch on April 8, the 2nd Thursday of the month].

Check back here by Monday the 15th for March results. Meanwhile, here’s the official release announcing the new survey (as always, click “fullscreen” for a closer look):

Survey Launch 030410

• U.S. Senate: Ken Buck Still On Top, Norton and Tidwell Gaining
• Governor: Dan Maes Widens Support Edge Over Scott McInnis
• 3rd Congressional: Scott Tipton Tops Bob McConnell Twice
• 4th Congressional: Cory Gardner Still Stands Above the Field
• 7th Congressional: Ryan Frazier Remains without Rival
• State Treasurer: Ament’s Lead Grows, Hasan Takes Over 2nd
• Interest in GOP Caucus Participation Suggests Bigger Numbers for 2010

The complete release of the survey results is posted below the fold (click “Fullscreen” for better view):

Survey Results Analysis 021510

Time flies, so here comes another edition of the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature. The deadline is next Friday, February 12, at 5:00 PM local Mountain time. What are you waiting for?

Click here to take the February survey

The February edition has even fewer issue statements, but introduces some interesting new items:

• Polling questions and head-to-head matchup on the 3rd Congressional race to challenge Rep. John Salazar
• Questions about your plans to participate in the upcoming caucus and assembly process
• Detailed question about your sources of local political news and information

Throughout the 2010 election year, the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature will re-appear the 1st Thursday of each month. So once you complete this survey, you can start counting down the days until the March edition is unveiled.

Check back here by Tuesday the 16th for February’s results. Meanwhile, here’s the official release announcing the new survey (as always, click fullscreen for a closer look):

Survey Launch 020410

Click below for:

• Official January survey results
• Discussion of survey results on Face The State Weekend Radio

With very few guests, it should be a good three hours of enlightening discussion and entertaining political banter. Go here to listen live.

First of all, I have to commend to you the Secretary of State’s work in creating the new TRACER campaign finance website, which is a more user-friendly, valuable tool than its predecessor. On the lighter side, while it’s imperative for candidates and committees filling out important disclosures to cross their t’s and dot their i’s, someone should have checked on TRACER’s main page to ensure the same level of accuracy:

Yes, I did send a note through the Secretary of State’s automated form to notify them of the error:

FYI – On your web page http://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/HomePage.aspx, the word Transparency as the title of the acronym TRACER is misspelled as “Transparancy.”

Look, I’m going to be “transparant” with you, too. I have an obsessive proofreading gene — if it ever gets out of hand, I may have to seek professional help. Anyway, now back to more serious business.

For those on or off the same political page, they are invited to participate in the NRCC’s live chat via SMS during President Obama’s State of the Union address.

To participate, consumers can text either keyword, SOTU or STATE, to the short code 777218.

After opting-in, consumers receive a text message that reads: “Thank you for participating in NRCC’s State of the Union Text Chat. Look here on Wednesday 1/27 for the link to participate.”

Several hours before the State of the Union address, consumers will receive chat instructions via text message: “Voice your opinion! Send ur comments as a message to 777218. View America’s response at www.nrcc.mobi. Don’t forget to refresh/reload the page to view more msgs. Txt help for help.”

Let’s see if the Republicans can pull it off. Let’s see if they listen. Let’s see if they can mobilize people around the agenda of rolling back the growing Federal leviathan, not just “freezing” it. Whatever they do, let’s represent Colorado in force.

In most places across Colorado, you can tune in and listen this Saturday or Sunday to the Face The State Weekend Edition — locally, here in Denver on AM 710 KNUS on Saturday at 5 AM or Sunday at noon. During part of the show I will be discussing with host Brad Jones the latest results from the survey of Colorado’s political temperature — an independent project co-sponsored by People’s Press Collective managing editor Michael Sandoval and yours truly.

January 2010 Colorado’s Political Temperature Survey Results

Thanks again to everyone who participated. And congratulations to our candidate winners this time around: Dan Maes, Ken Buck, Cory Gardner, Ryan Frazier and J.J. Ament.

Our plan is to work on some limited cross-tab analysis of these results. If you have any interest in any particular cross-tab (e.g., how did people vote in a particular race by age group?), please email me or leave the suggestions in the comment box by Tuesday night.

Thanks to everyone who participated. With 714 participants, this is the most popular edition yet. Come back and make your voice heard again in February … Onward and upward for 2010!

Rather than provide a recap, I’ll point you to the thoughts of liberal blogger David Thielen — whom I finally met in person and sat next to during the discussion. Though he was outnumbered about 15 to 1, Thielen held his own and was treated well. His Colorado Pols essay reviewing the event was honest, fair-minded and lighthearted — which:

• Shows the GOP leadership in attendance (who took a healthy share of time answering his questions) to be serious, fair and open
• Makes him stand out from the Pols crowd
• May get him ostracized by some in the Lefty quarters, in no small part because I now have written something complimentary about him twice within a week’s time

Thielen noted the confab was “a lot less partisan than I expected” (contrary to popular opinion, Republicans don’t even metaphorically “tar and feather” stranded Democrats who wander into our midst, much less literally).

Taken altogether, this means to me that the Colorado GOP — with leadership from the likes of senate minority leader Josh Penry — have clearly brandished their bona fides as a serious governing party. Principles are preserved, with a laser-like focus on restoring efficient, responsive government and erring on the side of responsible liberty and economic sanity. Prolonged minority status has a habit of doing that to a political party.

Though Republicans’ ability to leverage legislative success is limited, such a serious approach figures to improve the case they can take to the state’s voters in the fall. The 2010 Colorado elections may be very interesting, after all.

Anyway, the legislative session gets off and running tomorrow. Usually I say “hold on to your wallets”, but this time with real budget cuts on the table here’s hoping for genuine and lasting taxpayer-friendly reform in state government. Or at least, minimal damage compared to years past. The Democrats under the Golden Dome may prove me wrong, however.

Yesterday he posted a memo to the “Colorado Tea-Partiers” (the fact alone that he self-consciously avoids using the obscene derogatory term used by many others on the Left speaks highly of him) about the different Republican candidates in the two major races: U.S. Senate and Governor.

Please check out the memo and offer your honest reactions. I would dispute a few of Thielen’s characterizations, but he does have quite a few honest insights to offer.

My Tea Party friends may want to head over there and sound off in the comments. Or just carefully absorb the assessment from someone of a different political perspective to form some meaningful insights. Or perhaps, just follow Thielen’s own suggestion and take his memo “with a grain of salt.”

And then, if you haven’t done so already, come back to the light and chime in on our new Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature.

Okay, you political junkies out there: Come on, admit it. You’ve missed the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature since we announced the last results in November.

Well, the survey is back and better than ever — with fewer, better-organized issue statements, as well as the opportunity to predict head-to-head general election matchups in all the different Colorado races. You only have until next Friday, January 15, at 5:00 PM local Mountain time to get it done. You know you can’t resist. What are you waiting for?

Click here to take the January survey

The best news of all is that with the 2010 election year upon us, the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature will re-appear the 1st Thursday of each month. So once you complete this survey, you can start counting down the days until the February edition is unveiled.

Check back here by Monday the 18th for January’s results. Meanwhile, here’s the full press release announcing the new survey (as always, click fullscreen for a closer look):

Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature 2010

Red State’s Erick Erickson describes the analysis as “masterful.” Once again, we agree wholeheartedly.

Anyway, read the post from cover to cover. Skim it for specific information. Follow the links you find useful. Jump into the conversation in the comments. Whatever you do, recognize that Randy has performed a valuable service.